Saturday, June 27, 2009

The Porsche drama has morphed into a full blown tragedy: Porsche has until Monday to decide whether it is willing to accept what is essentially a firesale bid by Volkswagen and Lower Saxony for 49% of the company in exchange for €3-4 billion. As a result of the transaction, the two companies would merge, with the Piech and Porsche controlling a 40% stake, Lower Saxony owning 20%, Qatar 15%, and a separate state fund having a 5% stake. Qatar has made it clear that it would only participate in a deal that involves all the listed parties and will not be last ditch white knight. If Porsche does not accept by Tuesday, the deal will be pulled, and Porsche will have to pay back a €700 million loan to VW.

The Porsche drama has morphed into a full blown tragedy: Porsche has until Monday to decide whether it is willing to accept what is essentially a firesale bid by Volkswagen and Lower Saxony for 49% of the company in exchange for €3-4 billion. As a result of the transaction, the two companies would merge, with the Piech and Porsche controlling a 40% stake, Lower Saxony owning 20%, Qatar 15%, and a separate state fund having a 5% stake. Qatar has made it clear that it would only participate in a deal that involves all the listed parties and will not be last ditch white knight. If Porsche does not accept by Tuesday, the deal will be pulled, and Porsche will have to pay back a €700 million loan to VW.